2012: A year of CEO departures

James Murdoch stepped down as chairman of News International in
February following the phone hacking scandal. The 39 year-old relinquished
his newspaper position to focus on expanding the company’s international
television business, News Corporation said in a statement. During his
five-year term he oversaw the closure of the News of the World, News
International’s biggest selling newspaper. He also faced fierce
criticism of his handling of the hacking scandal and was accused of
misleading parliament over his knowledge of phone hacking at the newspaper.